*fewer

Maga vs AI: Trump’s Big Tech courtship risks a backlash on.ft.com/4niyITy

In a uniquely bad-tempered US Open, Tommy Paul has stood out for his grace and sportsmanship. I’m a fan.

TONIGHT: @joemillerjr.ft.com talks to @lawrenceodonnell.msnbc.com on The #LastWord at 10pm ET.

Sad to witness the decline of FT's Bracken House HQ, where the cricket is not being broadcast on one of the main screens.

US tycoon pours $100mn into Trump crypto project after SEC reprieve https://www.ft.com/content/548161ee-0cfb-4f0c-90ea-b3ff3567f09d

NEW: Financier Don Wilson invested $100mn in the Trump family’s flagship bitcoin project just nine weeks after a probe into his crypto business was dropped by the administration. With @antoinegara.bsky.social and Harriet Agnew. on.ft.com/3HCKlVT

The deployment of the National Guard was “clearly done as an authoritarian show of strength”, says @ryanenos.bsky.social “There is no policy reason [why the admin] should be targeting places in LA as opposed to places in red states.” on.ft.com/4kyK7hf

Are Donald Trump and Elon Musk now enemies? @edwardluce.bsky.social on yesterday's contretemps, with a reply from the FT's broligarch correspondent, @joemillerjr.ft.com www.ft.com/content/17a4...

I swear I’m not making this up, @robarmstrong.bsky.social, but my Lyft driver in DC just now brought up the TACO trade, unprompted. Now THAT’S cut through.

TMTG confirms our reporting less than a day after calling the FT "dumb." ir.tmtgcorp.com/news-events/...

Some quotes are too good to cut on.ft.com/4jkssZ0

I started reading this thinking it was about users who *asked* about race and South Africa getting bogus responses. But no, Grok is - ASTONISHINGLY - providing responses on the topic to users who have asked entirely unrelated questions. WILD. By @mshannahmurphy.bsky.social and Cristina Criddle

by @joemillerjr.ft.com and me: what has Doge actually done?

What has Elon Musk’s Doge actually achieved? @joemillerjr.ft.com and @chriscook.news dissect the record here. Dominik Lett, an analyst at the free-market Cato Institute, argues: “Doge should not be seen as a very successful deficit reduction effort.” www.ft.com/content/0854...

on.ft.com/3GMTDhw India and Pakistan: a conflict in the hands of two religious strongmen. Modi and Munir are the topic of today’s @FT Big Read

One of the best arguments for free trade is that tariffs are actually very hard (and expensive) to enforce. Case in point: Chinese manufacturers are already fraudulently undervaluing cargo sent to US; CBP is struggling to keep up. More in today's @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/4iMqpwN

SCOOP: The Antisemitism Awareness Act — up for vote in Senate committee tomorrow — now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements by Christian conservatives. New added language in the bill clarifies First Amendment protections. More ⬇️ forward.com/fast-forward...

Isn't this something? Mid 17th Century Hebrew/Chinese prayer book, which belonged to the Jews of Kaifeng. mss.huc.edu/phpviewer/in...

JD Vance will visit a Nucor Steel plant in South Carolina in an attempt at "highlighting America's manufacturing renaissance during the first one hundred days of the Trump Administration." Here is that renaissance, in chart form.

Microphone used by Ed Murrow at the BBC to report on the Blitz for CBS, bringing WWII into Americans’ living rooms, and paving the way for US intervention.

"There's been some blowback for the time that I've been spending in government with the Department of Government Efficiency or Doge", says Elon Musk after Tesla's quarterly profits cratered.

Elon Musk has lambasted the architect of Donald Trump’s trade war in the most public display to date of a potential rift between the US president and the world’s richest man www.ft.com/content/a863...

The twilight zone?

The Musk effect?

NEW w/ @mshannahmurphy.bsky.social Elon Musk clearly thinks X users need protection even from the Trump administration... His social media platform wants Scotus to force govt to get a warrant to obtain user data.

Scoop with @stephenfoleyft.bsky.social Trump admin has got some big concessions out of consultancies, in Doge-aligned effort to cut costs. 💰 Three of 10 firms targeted (which include Accenture, Deloitte etc) identified total of $15bn+ in savings enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/1e783...

“In January, Tesla filed a lawsuit against the state in a court in the county over Wisconsin’s refusal to let the carmaker bypass rules for local dealerships. Just days later, Musk’s political vehicles began donating to Wisconsin Republicans, records show.” www.ft.com/content/8ace...

Fascinating piece.

The people vs Elon Musk: billionaire transforms Wisconsin court contest https://www.ft.com/content/8ace0235-151c-4aa8-8b46-5e57bdb19b0c

Thanks for sharing, Mark. Gift link to full piece here on.ft.com/4l4TuWC

SCOOP: Trump admin urged civil servants to consider expanding Starlink's role in $42bn rural broadband scheme - in what would be a potential multi-billion dollar windfall for Elon Musk's company. on.ft.com/3FB9EXo

By me + @joemillerjr.ft.com :: not really possible to see any effects from the DOGE lay-offs and cancellations etc yet. But the returns confirm: you can’t get significant cuts without cutting popular stuff.

The Trump administration plans to expand its blitz against spending on consultants. The ten firms targeted so far will not be the last, we are told. Story with @joemillerjr.ft.com and some great data work by @chriscook.news: www.ft.com/content/8d28...

Elon Musk’s Doge is not happy with government spending on consultants. Great little scoop by @stephenfoleyft.bsky.social @chriscook.news @joemillerjr.ft.com 👉 on.ft.com/4klvr5n

Do any two people have more similar energies than David Cameron and Jeb Bush

"We're actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is still there."

It's happening... on.ft.com/3D05s2t

Elon Musk sets up clash with Republican deficit hawks over ‘Doge dividend cheques’ https://www.ft.com/content/2a1b5dce-c35d-4006-8ce0-530052abb787

More than 20% of Americans think US spent 20% of its annual budget on USAID; some 60% thought it spent more han 5% In fact, US was spending about 1%...! From: Majority of Americans believe foreign aid ‘wasted on corruption’, survey finds @joemillerjr.ft.com - on.ft.com/3QsXgL3 via @FT

What will Musk’s businesses gain from his proximity to Trump? https://www.ft.com/content/78928872-918b-4ce6-87c7-c6545c9467f8

Can anyone stop Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of the US government? https://www.ft.com/content/6296f907-019e-451d-85c1-0fb334f0e5f2

Well done, FT subs. 👏

📣 If you work at any of the DOGE-targeted US govt agencies and want to talk to the Financial Times in CONFIDENCE about recent developments, my details are below. 📣 ✉️ [email protected] 🔐 Signal: @joemillerjr.48 LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/joemiller...

Echoes of post-Soviet Russia anyone? “There is likely political benefit to a firm accelerating [deals with Starlink etc] given Musk’s position in the new administration," said Arizona State University's Jonathan Bundy. By me, Claire Bushey, @mshannahmurphy.bsky.social and @rafeuddin.ft.com

Amazon ramped up ad spending by 10x on X between December and January, joining the rest of corporate America in cosying up to Elon Musk. w/ @joemillerjr.ft.com, @mshannahmurphy.bsky.social and Claire Bushey on.ft.com/4jzFHGR

Thanks to FT tech and social media whizzes, I now have a verified ft.com handle, so you know this is... me.

NEW: Elon Musk has privately downplayed the chances of donating to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, telling an associate it would not be easy after he joined the US gov. But there's no law blocking a donation, and he still may decide to make one. W/ @joemillerjr.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/634e...

"Musk has seemingly become the first tech leader to fall down the rabbit hole of radicalisation by his own product" on.ft.com/3W6Zx1S

🗞️ JOB NEWS 🗞️ I'm delighted to have started as the FT's Washington Correspondent this week. I’ll be writing about Trump 2.0's relationship with business and private capital, and the reshaping of the economy, among other related matters. I’m a DC newbie, so all story/restaurant tips very welcome!